In real life, mirrors are a pretty dull part of everyday life. People walk by them without a second thought or check their hair or makeup. But in the horror genre, mirrors are the way that spirits or villains show themselves to the characters who they are haunting or about to kill, and it’s not possible to stare into the mirror in the middle of the night without something bad happening.
Certain horror tropes can seem cheesy and fans have become super wise to them over the years. But the “Mirror Scare” trope is superior because it’s always guaranteed to feel creepy. There is one TV show in particular that uses this trope effectively and creates a stunning atmosphere of terror each time.
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According toTV Tropes, the “Mirror Scare” horror trope employs a mirror’s reflection to show the villain, whether a creature, monster, killer, or ghost. Usually these scenes take place in the bathroom and the main or minor character is looking in the mirror of the medicine cabinet. When the character opens the door and takes something out and then looks back in the mirror again, they see something behind them. Or the villain is literally in the mirror now.
The website mentions that the character might be seeing things or imagining them or, in most cases, the villain really is there. The Mirror Scare trope is the best one because the villains' faces are genuinely shocking and while it’s easy to predict, it’s comforting in its familiarity and is always welcome. Manygreat horror movies don’t use jump scares, but often when a film does, it uses the Mirror Scare trope at the same time. This works well as it’s always terrifying when a character assumes that they’re alone and then realizes that they’re not. This trope is also used most often late at night or even in the middle of the night and the fact that the character is in a dark house or apartment makes it scarier.
Freddy vs. Jason, which is an underrated horror movie, is a great example of the Mirror Scare trope. Mark Davis (Brendan Fletcher) doesn’t want to fall asleep since, of course,Freddy Krueger kills people in dreams, so he goes into the bathroom to get pills. He closes the bathroom cabinet door and instead of seeing Mark’s face in the mirror, audiences see Freddy’s. Freddy kills Mark, who knows that isn’t able to stop what’s going to happen to him. The Mirror Scare trope is effective here as it proves that even though Mark thinks that he has a plan to escape Freddy, Freddy is too strong and Mark won’t be victorious. The Mirror Scare shows that the villain is literally everywhere.
Just like this trope is often used alongsidegood horror movie jump scares, it also works in a TV series with young adult characters.Are You Afraid Of The Dark?has scary episodesand the reboot’s third season, “Ghost Island,” uses the Mirror Scare trope.KaylaKing (Telci Huynh), who is grieving the death of her sister Bella, travels to a beautiful island with her best friends for the summer. The group meets Max Matheson (Conor Sherry) who shares a ghost story that many people who live there believe is true. In the tradition of the Midnight Society from the original'90s kids horror TV show, viewers see the story unfold as a young boy opens the door to room 13 and never leaves. When Kayla and her friends go into the room, they hear the song that played in the story, and they think that they’re going to be trapped there. The show is as charming as the original and the mirror element makes it memorable.
In a smart move, the show uses the Mirror Scare trope by having Max look in the mirror and see a distorted, strange version of himself. When he stands still, his mirror image moves and turns in a circle. Without this addition, the scene wouldn’t be quite as horrifying. The magical mirror proves that something dangerous is about to occur.
Like otherteen horror TV shows, theAre You Afraid Of The Dark?reboot understands that its young characters are extra brave because they believe in themselves and haven’t had life knock them down too many times yet. Max is determined to figure out why the mirror in this particular room is showing something creepy and viewers know that he’ll most likely be successful.
While many horror tropes can fall flat, there’s nothing like a good Mirror Scare. This trope suggests that the characters aren’t in control of their situation and that they won’t be able to escape the evil that’s coming for them.
